Chapter 22

A Line in the Sand

Serena could hear someone shouting. The sound was muffled and seemed to be far away, as if the person was hundreds of feet from her. Her body felt heavy and tired. She struggled to open her eyes as a searing pain rippled across her head. Her eyelids fluttered open as the room around her slowly came into focus. She could see two shapes before her, moving quickly and seemingly circling each other. Her ears picked up the hard clang of two metal items hitting each other.

She groaned as she felt her head begin to spin, still reeling in pain. She watched as the two shapes seemed to be dancing, moving around so quickly that it was if they weren't even on the ground. Suddenly she felt two hands underneath her arms, pulling her up to a sitting position. She swayed dangerously as the room began to spin again. She covered her eyes with her hands as the far-off sounds began to get louder and louder, intensifying the pain in her head.

"Princess! Princess!" Someone shouted to her.

Serena's eyes squeezed shut as her hands went to cover her ears, attempting to block out the noise that was only growing in volume.

"It's the dark energy! Look! The dark mark is on her forehead. It's not going away this time." Another voice shouted nearby.

"Princess! You must fight! FIGHT!" The first voice shouted to her. She could feel someone's nails digging into the skin of her arms. She winced once but the pain hardly registered. All she could concentrate on was not falling over.

"We have to get her back to the Moon… maybe Serenity—"

"NO!" Another voice cut in. "We can't abandon Endymion. He won't be able to get back to Earth without us."

"What's… what's happening to me?" Serena mumbled as she felt her vision begin to blur again. She shivered as another ripple of pain radiated from her forehead. She could feel her fingers tingle, as if they were asleep and numb. She looked down to see they were a vibrant blue. She shook her wrists, watching as her fingers flickered back and forth but she couldn't control them.

"She's losing control." The first voice stated. "We don't have much time."

"What's happening?" Serena repeated as she felt her vision taking focus again. She fought to sit all the way up. She could feel the numbing feeling spreading across her arms and down her torso.

"You're full of dark energy." A man said to her as he leaned in close. She could see his eyes focusing on hers. White blond hair fell into his eyes but he didn't flinch, he didn't blink. "You have to fight it, don't let it overcome you."

"Kunzite…" Serena breathed as she felt sweat trickle down the sides of her face. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion, the pain in her head forgotten momentarily. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her a half chuckle as his gaze left hers. He nodded to something before him, drawing her attention away from him. Serena's head turned from him to the source of the frequent clanging noise. About twenty feet from her was Darien, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt with sweat beading along his brow, battling Nikko. She watched as they circled each other, their swords contacting repeatedly, neither one of them relenting to the other.

"How is he here?" She whispered, still confused as to what was happening. "What is happening?"

"Our prince called us to him." Nephrite explained. He was kneeling next to Kunzite, his eyes set on the battle before him with his jaw locked hard. He looked as if he was ready to jump in, tentatively holding himself back. "He wasn't going to let Nikko keep you another day."

Serena felt her cheeks flush slightly. Darien had come for her. She let that information sink in slowly. Why was he fighting for her now, wasn't he with Idra? She had asked herself that same question after he had attacked Nikko at the Temple. Now here he was again, millions of miles from Earth, fighting Nikko with a drive she had never seen before. She began to wonder if his allegiance to her was simply because she was Sailor Moon and as Tuxedo Mask, he had promised to protect her… or did he still have feelings for her? She glanced down at her hands, which were slowly regaining feeling. She flexed her fingers slowly as the blue light subsided. What was happening?

"Keep fighting princess. The darkness within you is subsiding for now but it could return." Zoisite said from behind her. "If the dark energy takes you over, you won't be the same person."

"Like Nikko…" Serena whispered as she watched Nikko take a jab at Darien. His sword cut into the flesh of his arm and Darien yelped but didn't falter as blood poured down his arm. He spun around and the hilt of his sword slammed into the back of Nikko's neck, sending Nikko crashing to the ground with an angry yelp.

Nikko wasn't down for long. He got back to his feet, favoring one leg as he lunged for Darien. He dropped his sword as he caught him around the middle and the two men fell to the ground sending Darien's sword flying. Darien grunted as his already cracked rib rubbed uncomfortably, sending a sharp jolt of pain through him. He sent a punch at Nikko's head but the pain was quickly becoming unbearable.

Nikko was relentless. As soon as they landed on the ground he sent a flurry of punches at Darien's torso, sensing his weakness. Darien yelped as he felt his ribs take the force of the blows.

Jadeite jumped up but Zoisite caught his shoulder, shaking his head. "Endymion wanted to do this on his own. He told us not to interfere."

Jadeite's green eyes narrowed sharply as his hands balled into tight fists. He watched as Darien withered on the ground, bringing up his elbows to shield his body but Nikko wouldn't quit. His punches continued until finally Darien brought up his knees and kicked Nikko off.

Nikko fell backwards, crashing to the ground as Darien rolled onto his side. Both men took a moment, each breathing deeply though Darien's breaths were more shallow. His lip was busted and the cut on his arm was still wet with his blood. He turned his head to look at his generals though his eyes settled on Serena who was watching him intently.

Serena sat up straighter as Darien's gaze fell on her. Their eyes met and suddenly her reservations were gone. He was here for her, not as Tuxedo Mask fighting for Sailor Moon but Darien Chiba fighting for Serena Tsukino. She could see the pain he felt in his deep blue eyes. She could see in that moment, that he had never stopped caring for her. But why hurt her? Why leave her?

"Endymion." Nikko said as he stood, his sword back in his hand. His long white-blonde hair was disheveled, partly fallen from the usual tie that held it back. Long strands stuck to his face and neck which were wet with perspiration. His left eye was quickly swelling shut and a gash across his torso was bleeding freely though he showed no weakness. He approached a very battered Darien who was slowly standing, wincing as his cracked rib rubbed together. "Go home. The princess is mine. You can't beat me. You're weak. You're pitiful. I can see it in your eyes now. Why else would you bring your henchmen with you? If you want to live, you'll leave… NOW."

Darien straightened up as he approached Nikko, one hand on his sword. His jaw was tight, set with determination. "I don't need my generals to help me. I can defeat you on my own…" He emitted a half-hearted chuckle as his grip tightened on his sword. "Is that all you've got Nikko? I could do this all day."

"STOP!" Serena screamed as she got to her feet, swaying dangerously as her head began to spin again. Kunzite rose with her and set his hands on her shoulders, steadying her as she took a cautious step forward. Her deep violet skirts swished around her ankles and trailed on the floor behind her as she walked across the room, leaving the generals behind. She felt all eyes in the room settle on her as she came to a stop between the two men. "Nikko, I've already told you that I'm going home. I don't belong with you."

Nikko's teeth clenched as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You're not—"

"Let me finish." Serena interrupted with a glare as she turned to Darien. "But I'm not going home with you either." She stated as she met Darien's eyes. His eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Serena, we need to talk about this—"Darien began but Serena held up her hand, shaking her head.

"I'm going back to my team… they need me and we have a job to finish. All of this… the fighting between the two of you, the past we all have with each other, is secondary to the fact that there is an evil Queen trying to take over the Earth. Nikko, you've made it clear what side you're on. Now I'm making it clear to you which side I am on." She turned back to face Nikko as her expression changed to one of fierce determination. "I am still Sailor Moon, and I will fight for the people of Earth if it is the last thing I do."

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"Everything is ready, my Queen." Fabian stated as he bowed before Queen Raven's grand onyx throne. The palace had taken merely hours to reconstruct with her dark energy. It was a perfect replica of the Earth Palace that had stood during the Silver Millennium. The white stone walls and marble floors comprised most of the four levels of the palace. Stained glass windows lined the throne room, casting deep ruby red and amber shadows onto the polished floor that led to Queen Raven's throne. Her onyx throne sat atop a blood red platform that was at the far end of the room.

Queen Raven's expression was hard as Fabian had entered the room yet when he spoke it transformed to an eerie smile. Today the Queen looked impeccable with a solid black satin gown over a deep emerald green skirt. Her rich curls were gathered up and pinned onto the back of her head underneath her grand ruby and sapphire crown. A heavy black diamond necklace with a large emerald pendant hung around her neck, stopping just before the bodice of her gown which was covered with sparkling black beads.

"Fabian…" Queen Raven began as she rose from her throne and gathered her skirts, descending the platform to the floor where Fabian was still bowing low. "Rise." She commanded as she neared him.

Fabian stood at attention, his hands plastered to his sides. He didn't wear the usual soldier's uniform of Charon as he was accustomed to. Instead, he wore the deep green uniform of Earth. His royal blue cape had been replaced with a deep black one, bearing the insignia of Queen Raven's service.

"Your brother is a fool." She told him as she shook her head back and forth. "The things he has done for a silly little girl…" She trailed off as her gaze flickered to a large white orb that was in the middle of the throne room. Apart from the platform with her throne it was the only other object in the room. The moment she looked at it the white light that shone within it dissipated to show Princess Serena. She was dressed in her white gown, dancing with Endymion at the ball on Venus. Queen Raven's eyes narrowed at the image. "This simpering princess has been a thorn in my side for far too long. Nikko's affliction for her has made him weak. I have no use for weaklings. He hasn't brought me the Silver Crystal, and he won't… he is blinded by what he thinks is love for this girl—"

"Nikko is on Charon with Serena." Fabian stated. "He poses no threat to your plans."

"Not yet." Queen Raven snapped, annoyed. "But he will. I need the Silver Crystal, if he can't get it for me then I need someone who can."

"Serena doesn't trust me." Fabian remarked. "I can't get close enough."

"No… but you forget dear prince, Serena has more than one weakness." She looked back at the orb which now showed an older Serena bowing to Queen Serenity as she placed a tiara on her head.

"Queen Serenity." Fabian whispered as the realization sank in.

"Two birds… one stone." Queen Raven smiled as she approached the orb, an evil glint shimmering in her eyes. "Call Femi… I think it's time you two paid a visit to the Moon."